Back to State and Visit to WMU

I had some business with my credit union which is based in East Lansing so I went up there today. It’s been a few years since I’ve been back on campus and it always amazes me to see the improvements that are always being made. This time around, I saw that they created underpasses at the rail road crossings on the southern end of the main campus. One of the more shocking was this on the north end by the College of Social Science:
I’m not sure what they are going to be building here.
Here is Phillips Hall, my dorm from freshman and sophomore years. Just recently they installed an art sculpture. The cost for it would have completely paid the tuition and housing for three students seeking a four year degree.

I stopped by the Student Union and I was happy to see that my credit union opened a branch there. That was a very smart thing as together with the campus post office, it makes the Union more of a one-stop service area.
There were a couple things that I didn’t care for. The food courts were closed. Closed! On a Saturday. Now I’ve seen reduced hours during breaks but I have never known them to close. Even the stacks were closed when I walked by them (although they would have opened later in the day.)

On my way back, I contacted my sister to see if she wanted to catch lunch as I would be passing her university on my way back home. We met up and had lunch at a Chinese buffet. After that she took me on a tour of downtown Kalamazoo.
…where we saw a fountain…

…and church.


We also visited candy shop that was very retro. I liked it a lot.

We drank odd pop…

…and ate Blue Moon ice cream. Yum!

Now that I'm back home. I think I'm getting sick :( But that aside, it was an excellent day.

We’ve Got the Power!

We had a large storm come through late Friday night and early Saturday morning. We rode out the first wave but power was knocked out in the second. I could see that the winds were pretty nasty but it was nothing that I hadn’t seen before. I just thought that we were unlucky enough to catch a cell. Turns out this was a big ass cell that covered multiple counties.

Usually, when a storm knocks out power, it is restored within a day. What was so unusual about this storm was that the damage was so widespread. We pretty much had a micro-hurricane. Around noon on Saturday I headed up north to Stevensville to get some gas at my mom’s request.

Baroda. This is one of many trees that were blown down. I saw a house that had a swath of its roofing blown off.

A few houses down from where I live I saw that these poles. This was probably where our power was interrupted.

That evening, I drove into Niles and South Bend. The traffic signals in Michigan were out. Indiana’s were mostly up but there were a few intersections that were still down.

The fridge in the house and the freezer in the mudroom held together by Sunday. Everything in them was okay. The freezer in the garage couldn’t hold on and much of the meat had begun to thaw. My uncle came by around noon and took two full sized coolers of the beef. I would say about 150 to 200 pounds. The chicken was grilled and the hamburger was cooked so it could be refrozen later.

Power came back on later that day. Some of my friends in the South Bend ‘burbs did not have power. I’m guessing the power poles that were hanging over into the road might have been too much of a hazard and got bumped up on the priority list.

Housing: Affordability vs. Everything Else

The housing search did not go well earlier this week. Before heading out, I made a list of properties that were in my price range. Every place that I visited in Michigan had waiting lists. I got on them but no one could give me an idea of how long the wait might be. Gritting my teeth, I headed into Mishawaka, Indiana to inquire into a complex down there. To my surprise, they had units open so I filled out an application. At that point, it looked like it was going to be my only option.

So this Mishawaka place. On the plus side, it was well within my price range and there was even a discount internet provider (whose name I’ve never heard of). It looked nice but from what my coworkers tell me, looks can be deceiving. Apparently it is pretty rough and I’ve heard stories of people getting shot there. The fact that the unit that I was applying for was ground level and the windows were secured with wood dowels, did not impress me.

I found out earlier today that a place in Buchanan had a one-bedroom available and those ahead of me on the list didn’t go for it. I asked the office person there if I could drop by after their office hours and check it out. If the apartment worked out, I was going to make out an application and pretty much guarantee them that I would sign a lease.

I toured the unit and it doesn’t look as attractive as the one in Mishawaka but there is more space. It’s also a bit more expensive. I think that the biggest selling point for me was that I could still remain in Michigan. This is hugely important to me because I can still maintain my residency so that if I apply to grad school, I will pay the discounted in-state tuition. In addition, I wouldn’t have to go through all the other annoying obstacles of establishing Indiana residency by changing over my vehicle registration and insurance. In addition, it’s a lot easier to get to and from work. Even though Mishawaka is the next town over, I have would have to drive miles of surface streets. Buchanan is just a shot up the highway and a hook into town.

The lady seemed confident that I would get the unit and even asked me if I wanted to move in within the next couple days. I think it would be less complicated if I just waited until July. At least I would have a couple weeks to see if I can scrounge up some used items to furnish the apartment with. As of right now, I basically have a bed, desk, chair, computer, and some odds and ends still left from living in the dorms.

More on this later...

We.... won? *scratches head*

According to my friend Adam, the 1-1 tie between England and the United States is the reason why he can’t get into soccer. How can anyone tolerate a game that ends in a draw? Someone’s gotta win! In addition, it’s strange how a tie can be a “win” for one side *cough*USA*cough* and a loss for another.

See also: “Give it another shot?”

Bringing My Phone Back

Hey, does anyone remember this:

The music in this vid was one of many ring tones that have been wiped clean off my phone.

Yesterday morning my phone booted up to an error screen and I could not reset it with a battery pull. After fiddling with it all day and getting nowhere I took it the Verizon kiosk in the mall. They referred to one of their actual stores. Then those people sent me home telling me to update the software. I was not happy with their customer service. Although they seemed willing to, ultimately, provide me with a replacement, they wanted me to see if I could figure it out on my own.

When I got home their suggestion of downloading software to the phone didn’t work. I spent a few hours on it and got nowhere. Fed up, I left it connected to my computer and when I came back a few hours later it had somehow connected to my computer and I was able to restore it to factory settings.

Luckily I have my contacts backed up. A lot of media got deleted, mostly but that’s no big deal. I can replace the few ring tones that I liked anyways. I’ll probably be personalizing the phone over the next couple of days. I didn’t realize how customized I had it.

Really, I’m just glad that I don’t have to buy a new phone or go through the hassles of submitting an insurance claim. I can still wait until my renewal window is open or when my contract is up.

Considering Giving it Up to the Cloud

See also: --> “Well, I needed a new handset anyways,” and “I want to be a Crackberry addict!”

I should have more pressing things to worry about but lately I have been considering what phone I will get when I am eligible for my upgrade—in three months. I haven’t made a decision as to whether I should continue with BlackBerry or move onto a handset carrying Android.

I do like my current phone, the BlackBerry Storm, but as it ages, the shortcomings are becoming more apparent. The messaging capabilities have been top-notch and I have valued its ability to sync up to Outlook but the memory is low and applications are bare bones in comparison to their counterparts made for Android or the iPhone. I don’t know what has changed by the in the past few days, but my phone hasn’t been syncing properly. My calendar entries created on Outlook shows up hidden on my phone. Entries on my phone don’t sync to Outlook.

Outlook has always been my manager of emails, events, and contacts. I have been hesitant to switch over to Gmail completely. I’m not comfortable putting up what I would consider sensitive information up into the cloud. I like to know where that data is—in a computer tower that I can destroy whenever I want. Should I move to Android, it looks like I will have to give it all up to the cloud. It could be a good thing as syncing issues shouldn’t be a problem and well it’s free unlike Outlook. I just have to get over the psychological hurdle of letting my data go.

Finding a place to live, how hard can it be?

I have submitted an application for low income housing but the waiting list is six months long. I suppose for the application fee, it’s worth the gamble that an available spot might open up within a month or two. I started a broader search and there really isn’t much in my price range but there a few.

Going on to the various apartment hunting websites, most of the listings are in South Bend. I found two places offering studios in my price range. The neighborhoods don’t look too bad either. They’re buried inside the city with no easy way to get to work or my parents. …And, God, I don’t want to be a Hoosier.

There are two places nearby in Michigan that I really like. In fact, when I’ll be inquiring about one of them first. It’s a studio. The setup is nice and the price is just right and—hello indoor pool! I’ll have to put in a time-off request at work so I can check this and other places when their offices are open. Sometimes having a 9-5 job is damn inconvenient!

Cross your fingers for me that there are available spaces.